Bunch of Five

Product Information

It would be an opportunity for national catharsis, for the start of a process of truth and reconciliation with the peoples across the world who were subjugated by the British state. The legal action taken against Kitson within a civil court, as compared to a military or criminal court creates a new precedent for liability in the context of war.

This is because it allows others to file similar legal action previously not seen following conflict situations.

The 30-year duration of the conflict in the North is the most obvious evidence of the military failure of these tactics. He said he had no recollection of discussing the general situation in Northern Ireland with Major General Ford nor had he carried out specific training of troops. Kitson joined the British Army as a second lieutenant on an emergency commission in the Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) on 23 February 1946. Charles Haughey, Minister for Finance, a captain in Irish military intelligence along with two others were put on trial.

During the 1950s, the British tried to retain control of lands in Kenya stolen violently stolen from the Kikuyu by white settlers. Decorated British army officer General Frank Kitson left a “terrible legacy” and was allowed to act with total impunity in Northern Ireland, Derry’s Bloody Sunday Trust has said. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Writing on his death, the Irish News described Kitson as a hate figure, and quoted SDLP founder Paddy Devlin as saying Kitson "probably did more than any other individual to sour relations between the Catholic community and the security forces. However, despite his strong lasting legacy in the security sector, today, Kitson faces legal repercussions due to his actions during The Troubles.

Chairman of the Bloody Sunday Trust Tony Doherty said Kitson left a trail of devastation in Derry, Ballymurphy and other communities in the north. General Kitson is the first of around 300 military witnesses, most of whom will not be identified by name, who will testify in London over the next year. General Sir Michael Jackson, who was an adjutant in 1 Para in the early 1970s, described Kitson as an ‘incisive thinker and military theorist’, and claimed that ‘he was the sun around which the planets revolved . Yet these conflicts were consistently interpreted almost universally by British academics as exemplifying the best practice of counterinsurgency. A second soldier involved in both events was ‘mentioned in despatches’ at the behest of Kitson for his alleged bravery in the face of the enemy.

They should then face a rigorous interrogation about their activities on the days during which the murder spree took place.J. Hughes, ‘State violence in the origins of nationalism: British counterinsurgency and the rebirth of Irish nationalism, 1969–1972’, in J.

No general in recent times has provoked more intense and sustained controversy than Frank Kitson, a short and ramrod-straight figure with a jutting chin, nasal voice and dislike of small talk. The use of the internment centers allowed for harsh techniques such as the “five techniques” to be used.Kitson was the son of Vice Admiral Sir Henry Kitson and Marjorie de Pass, daughter of Sir Eliot Arthur de Pass. Kitson’s book Low intensity operations drew on the lessons of Britain’s colonial wars to elaborate a plan of action for coordinated political, military, legal and media operations against insurgents and subversives. Furthermore, ‘Low Intensity Operations’ was only published towards the end of my time in Northern Ireland and did not become very well known until some months after I had left the Province.